Ask Sam letter

To Sam15 October 2012

This girl will NOT stop bullying me.

Hi sam so im not having the best time as ive just moved into my new high school, and a yr 8 person is now bullying me, im getting called alot of mean names - alot of swear words, :( and now shes sending them over text message! Help me! :( what do i do?

Sam15 October 2012

Hi there,

Thanks very much for your letter. It sounds like things with this girl have been really hard for you, especially with her starting to send hurtful things over text. Im very glad that youre talking about it.

Settling into a new school can be a really stressful time, so I would imagine that its pretty difficult to be dealing with this bullying as well. Nobody has the right to bully you. Its important to remember that you have a right to feel safe and happy at school, and that the school has a responsibility to protect you.

Its a good idea to think about how to get help when youre being bullied. If people dont know whats happening, it makes it very hard for them to help. Sometimes it can be scary to think about telling an adult or a teacher. When youre thinking about whether or not to tell someone, it might help to think about who youd find it easiest to trust, and when would be a good time to speak to them. Perhaps you could even have a plan of what you could do if telling that first person doesnt work out. Even if youve told someone about bullying once, its okay to keep telling them, or someone different, if the bullying carries on.

You said this girl has been sending you mean names over text message. Some mobile handsets will let you block messages from a specific number, so that might be worth trying. Its always good to keep nasty messages if you can, so that you can show them to a parent or adult. The text messages are really good proof of what this girl is doing. Theres some more information about being bullied over the phone on the Mobile phone safety page in Explore.

You might find talking to a ChildLine counsellor helpful. They are trained to listen to whatever you want to talk about. They can give you a safe space to say as much or as little as you feel able to. You can contact them online by logging in for a 1-2-1 chat (which works like instant messenger), by calling on 0800 1111 (its completely free and wont show up on the phone bill) or by sending them an email.

It would be a good idea to have a look at the Bullying page in Explore for more information. You might also find it really helpful to have a look at the Cyber Mentors website, which offers you the chance to chat with other young people that are being bullied.

Take care,

Sam

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